A REPORT into alleged police corruption may have to wait until disciplinary proceedings against suspended officers have been completed.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) revealed yesterday that its report on the three-year Operation Lancet inquiry, into members of the Cleveland force, may be delayed for fear of prejudicing future hearings.

Former head of Middlesbrough CID Ray Mallon - dubbed Robocop for his zero tolerance stance - is facing 14 disciplinary charges, with another eight officers also suspended, pending disciplinary hearings.

But Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar said it was important there were no further delays in bringing an inquiry which had already cost £7m to a close.

He said: "There could be an argument that some people might have a vested interest in trying to drag out disciplinary measures, as a way of delaying proper scrutiny of what is happening in Lancet.

"It is crucial everybody realises it is important to end the disciplinary hearings as soon as possible, so Parliament and the general public can scrutinise the process effectively, and draw lessons from it."

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said that they could not comment on active disciplinary procedures.

The PCA, in its annual report yesterday, said the Lancet investigation had been "perhaps the most complex and difficult we have ever supervised".

Yesterday, The Northern Echo revealed a leading member of Cleveland Police Authority has quit in frustration at flaws exposed by the inquiry.

Complaints against the police fell last year, according to the report, although two North-East forces - Durham and Cleveland - recorded a rise in the number of cases dealt with by the PCA.

A Durham Police spokesman said their overall number of complaints rose by one, from 135 to 136, with most resolved informally and the rest referred to the PCA.

He said that just four complaints were substantiated last year, and the force recorded one of the lowest numbers of cases in the country.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said their overall number of complaints had fallen, and they were on track to record a 20 per cent fall in complaints per thousand officers in the five years to 2002.

Read more about Operation Lancethere.